TransSoDia – Kooperative Soziale Diagnostik transnational und digital lehren und lernen

<< Background >>Professional development and innovation in social work often takes place under conditions of very limited resources. This also applies to concepts and instruments of social diagnostics, which are often developed by university lecturers and rareThe project had several objectives:1. To further develop cooperative network and biographical diagnostics through international cooperatily with the involvement of practitioners/users. In the past, student projects at the UAS St. Pölten have developed digital programmes for the cooperative visualisation and analysis of egocentric networks and life courses. These were very well received in the German-speaking social work sector and were used in teaching at the partner universities. Users complained that these tools were technically and professionally outdated, that they were not suitable for use on mobile devices and that they could not be used with some target groups. The user manuals were also outdated. The partners were united by their professional interest in the further development of social diagnostic tools. There was also a strong interest in sharing teaching experiences and developing didactic designs for virtual teaching, as well as designing training courses for social diagnostics.<< Objectives >>The project had several objectives:1. To further develop cooperative network and biographical diagnostics through international cooperation in order to adapt them to current theoretical and scientific knowledge.2. The further development of the network diagnostic software solution easyNWK (web-based, open source) and the first-time provision of the biographical diagnostic tool easyBiograph as a web application. These should be technically sound, user-friendly, mobile-friendly and enhanced with features that social work professionals consider particularly relevant.3. The production of multimedia teaching and learning materials - including instructional videos, podcasts, specialist texts and manuals - that support blended learning concepts and can be used in both university teaching and continuing education.4. The joint development and testing of innovative formats and designs for digital and transnational teaching, based on the exchange of information on existing teaching activities in the partner universities.5. The integration of international perspectives and the active participation of students and professionals in product development to promote practical, participatory outcomes.<< Implementation >>TransSoDia was implemented in a three-year participatory development process by the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences (AT), the Kiel University of Applied Sciences (DE) and Saxion University Enschede (NL). The diagnostic software easyNWK and easyBiograph were iteratively developed and refined, with all new features being tested in courses and continuing education seminars. Based on ongoing expert discussions, multimedia teaching materials were developed, including specialist texts, manuals, instructional videos and podcasts.A comparison of course designs led to an expansion of the didactic approaches of the project partners. Two transnational training programmes were piloted, including an online seminar series and a lecture series for professionals. The concepts developed were transferred into micro-credentials.Three project meetings and continuous virtual collaboration promoted exchange, joint development work and dissemination. In the final year of the project, the results were disseminated through multiplier events within and outside the partner universities. New websites were created for the two instruments and their toolkits.<< Results >>(1) University teaching: Innovative teaching formats were developed, including a collection of exercises, a shared set of slides, three instructional videos and two podcasts.(2) Continuing education: Three digital transnational training formats were designed, two of which were piloted and evaluated. This resulted in two micro-credits. Reports on (1) and (2) are available in English and German.(3) easyNWK: The existing web application for network diagnosis was extensively revised, including an updated manual (GER/EN).(4) Network Diagnostics Toolkit: Contains specialist texts, a bibliography, two videos and a podcast.(5) easyBiograph: A web application for multidimensional visualisation has been developed for the first time, including a manual (GER/EN).(6) Biographical Diagnostics Toolkit: Includes a manual, a bibliography, two videos and a podcast.International teaching collaborations have been intensified. Colleagues from other universities have expressed interest in using the products. The increased quality of student work is evidence of their effectiveness. Experts confirm that the design and functionality of the web applications motivate practical use.The results are publicly available (project and product websites, YouT